| Naoko Ken | |
| Birth Name: | (maiden name) |
| Background: | solo_singer |
| Birth Date: | 7 July 1953 |
| Origin: | Amagiyukashima, Shizuoka, Japan |
| Occupation: | Singer, actress, YouTuber |
| Years Active: | 1971–present |
| Instrument: | Vocals |
| Associated Acts: | Toshi and Naoko, Naoko and Lilacs, Ken♂♀Ken |
| Label: | Toho Records Canyon Records Pony Canyon Gauss Entertainment Unchanged Records |
| Website: | Official |
| Naoko Ken | |
| Channel Url: | UCCusOkTQDnujz4vo_u0E7OA |
| Channel Display Name: | 研ナオコ Naoko Ken |
| Years Active: | 2020 - |
| Subscribers: | 228k |
| Views: | 57,827,982 million times |
Naoko Ken（研 ナオコ, Ken Naoko, born July 7, 1953）is a Japanese singer and actress. She is well known for her comedy roles featuring idiosyncratic looks, and a string of successful torch songs that gained popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In 1971, Ken debuted as an enka-oriented singer with a single "Daitokai no Yasagure On'na". In 1975, after the release of several charted singles, she gained the first outstanding commercial success with a song "Guzu", which was written by Ryudo Uzaki and his wife Yoko Aki. "Abayo", a song written by Miyuki Nakajima became the most successful single for Ken, selling more than 600,000 copies. In 1976, the prize-winning song reached number-one spot on the Oricon, Japan's most eminent chart. In addition to the success as a musician, she also obtained popularity as a tarento in the mid 1970s, through her comical acts on multiple TV shows including Kakkurakin Daihousou!!.
After a temporary hiatus in 1977 owing to her arrest on suspicion of possession of marijuana,[1] she returned to the Japanese entertainment industry with the hit tune "Kamome wa Kamome". The melancholic ballad written by Nakajima became known as one of her signature songs, finally sold in excess of 300,000 units. In 1982, she gained huge commercial success as a singer again with a cover version of the Southern All Stars' song "Natsu wo Akiramete", winning several Japanese music prizes. The song is her last top-ten hit solo single so far.
Due to her songs’ popularity, Ken was selected for the annual Red and White Song festival every year from 1976 to 1986 except 1977, the year that she went hiatus due to her drug case, and made another return to the prestigious programme on 1993 for her 11th and last appearance so far.
Through her long-term career as a comedic TV personality, she has released several novelty singles with other performers such as Ken Shimura. The song "Natsuzakari Ho no Ji Gumi" recorded with an idol singer Toshihiko Tahara in 1985 is the last top-40 hit single for Ken on the Japanese record charts. To date, her last single was released in 1985.
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JP [2] | |||||
| 1971 | "" / "" | align="center" | - | Toho | |
| 1972 | "" / "" | align="center" | - | ||
| "" / "" | align="center" | - | |||
| "" / "" | 52 | ||||
| "" / "" | align="center" | - | |||
| 1973 | "" /"" | 59 | |||
| "" / "" | 60 | ||||
| 1974 | "" / "" | align="center" | - | Canyon | |
| 1975 | "" / "" | 9 | |||
| 1976 | "" / "" | 28 | |||
| "La La La" / "" | 28 | ||||
| "" / "" | 1 | ||||
| 1977 | "" / "" | 14 | |||
| "" / "Blues" | 43 | ||||
| "" / "" | 35 | ||||
| 1978 | "" / "" | 7 | |||
| "" / "" | 8 | ||||
| "" /"" | 17 | ||||
| 1979 | "" /"" | 55 | |||
| "" /"Goodbye" | 33 | ||||
| "" /"" | align="center" | - | |||
| "" /"" | 39 | ||||
| 1980 | "" /"" | 31 | |||
| "" /"" | align="center" | - | |||
| "" /"Bravo-Bravo" | 91 | ||||
| 1981 | "" /"" | align="center" | - | ||
| "" /"" | align="center" | - | |||
| "" /"" | 69 | ||||
| 1982 | "" /"" | 5 | |||
| "" /"" | 53 | ||||
| 1983 | "Lonely Way" /"" | align="center" | - | ||
| "" /"Lonely Star" | 71 | ||||
| "" / "" | 41 | ||||
| 1984 | "" / "Don't Cry My Heart" | align="center" | - | ||
| "" / "" | align="center" | - | |||
| "" / "Give Me Blues" | 78 | ||||
| 1985 | "" / "" | align="center" | - | ||
| 1986 | "" / "" | 73 | |||
| 1987 | "" / "Etranger" | align="center" | - | ||
| "" / "" | align="center" | - | |||
| 1989 | "" / "" | align="center" | - | Pony Canyon | |
| 1992 | "" / "" | align="center" | - | ||
| 1993 | "" / "Off" | align="center" | - | ||
| "Mary Jane" / "Half Moon" | align="center" | - | |||
| 1994 | "" / "" | align="center" | - | ||
| 1995 | "" / "" | align="center" | - | ||
| 2019 | "" / "" | align="center" | - | Unchanged |
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Additional information | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JP | |||||
| 1985 | "" / "" (with Toshihiko Tahara) | 5 | Credit to "Toshi and Naoko" | Canyon | |
| 1992 | "" / "" (with the Lilacs) | 91 | Credited to "Naoko and Lilacs" | Pony Canyon | |
| 2001 | "" / "Love Tokyo Night" (with Ken Shimura) | 41 | Credited to "Ken♂♀Ken" Produced by Tsunku | ||
| 2004 | "" (with Toshihiko Tahara) | 123 | Gauss Entertainment |
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| JPN Oricon [3] | ||
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| Naoko VS Aku Yu |
| - |
| - | |
| - | |
| Naoko Mistone |
| - |
| - | |
| Again |
| - |
| - | |
| Deep |
| - |
| Deep |
| - |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| JPN Oricon | ||
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| Best Selection |
| - |
| - | |
| - | |
| Super Best |
| - |
| - | |
| - | |
| Naoko Sings Ballads |
| - |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| My Classics |
| - |
| - | |
| - | |
| LOVE LIFE LIVE Vol.1: 35th Anniversary |
| - |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| Year | Song | No. | VS | Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 (Showa 51)/27th | 1 | LA-LA-LA | 9/24 | Aoi Teruhiko | ||
| 1978 (Showa 53)/29th | 2 | Kamome Wa Kamome (かもめはかもめ) | 4/24 | Goro Noguchi | ||
| 1979 (Showa 54)/30th | 3 | Hitori Pocchide Odorasete (ひとりぽっちで踊らせて) | 11/23 | Takashi Hosokawa | ||
| 1980 (Showa 55)/31st | 4 | Yumemakura (夢枕) | 13/23 | Yūzō Kayama | ||
| 1981 (Showa 56)/32nd | 5 | Bosanoba (ボサノバ) | 16/22 | Ryuu Tetsuya | ||
| 1982 (Showa 57)/33rd | 6 | Natsu Wo Akiramete (夏をあきらめて) | 8/22 | Sugawara Youichi | ||
| 1983 (Showa 58)/34th | 7 | Nakasete (泣かせて) | 18/21 | Sugawara Youichi (2)& Shiruiya | ||
| 1984 (Showa 59)/35th | 8 | Meigaza (名画座) | 5/20 | Yamamoto Jyouji | ||
| 1985 (Showa 60)/36th | 9 | Kishuu (帰愁) | 9/20 | Haruo Minami | ||
| 1986 (Showa 61)/37th | 10 | Tokyo Mikaeribijin (Tokyo見返り美人) | 8/21 | Shibugakitai | ||
| 1993 (Heisei 5)/44th | 11 | Kamome Wa Kamome (2) | 15/26 | Kaientai | Returned after 7 years |